As the ineffective federal government has refused to stop the flow of illegal immigration into our country, going back the the Reagan years, Rational Nation USA fully supports Arizona's Immigration Law. The combination of an ineffective and inattentive Federal government combined with businesses that willfully broke immigration law to exploit the cheap labor of illegal immigrants are responsible for our present situation.

Since the federal government has chosen to dither and focus its efforts more on justifying amnesty rather that securing our borders, the news that more states are considering state immigration laws similar to Arizona's law based on Arizona Senate Bill 1070 is indeed welcome and encouraging.

Five states are expected to push ahead and introduce laws similar to Arizona law -- Georgia, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. Rational Nation USA is hopeful that more states will take the initiative to introduce, and ultimately enact substantive and tough immigration law for their respective states.

Perhaps the only way to get immigration policy effectively addressed is through the individual states taking action. No doubt the feds will challenge state initiatives in court. That would not be a bad thing, as the voice of the majority would be heard. Clogging the courts because of years of inaction by the federal government would almost be poetic justice in and of itself.

The New York Times ran an article today, important excepts follow.

Legislative leaders in at least half a dozen states say they will propose bills similar to a controversial law to fight illegal immigration that was adopted by Arizona last spring, even though a federal court has suspended central provisions of that statute.

The efforts, led by Republicans, are part of a wave of state measures coming this year aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration.

Legislators have also announced measures to limit access to public colleges and other benefits for illegal immigrants and to punish employers who hire them.

Few people expect movement on immigration issues when Congress reconvenes next week in a divided Washington. Republicans, who will control the House of Representatives, do not support an overhaul of immigration laws that President Obama has promised to continue to push. State lawmakers say it has fallen to them to act.

“The federal government’s failure to enforce our border has functionally turned every state into a border state,” said Randy Terrill, a Republican representative in Oklahoma who has led the drive for anti-illegal immigration laws there. “This is federalism in action,” he said. “The states are stepping in and filling the void left by the federal government.”

The Arizona law authorized the state and local police to ask about the immigration status of anyone they detained for other reasons, if they had a “reasonable suspicion” that the person was an illegal immigrant.

Acting on a lawsuit filed by the Obama administration, a federal judge stayed central provisions of the law. In November, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit heard arguments on an appeal of that stay by Arizona.

“States will push ahead regardless of the Ninth Circuit,” said Kris Kobach, a law professor and politician from Kansas who helped many states devise immigration laws — including Arizona’s. “A lot of people recognize that the district judge’s decision is very much open to dispute.”

In Oklahoma, where Republicans won big majorities in both houses of the Legislature and the governor’s office, Mr. Terrill said he would introduce a bill he called “Arizona plus.” In addition to the terms of Arizona’s law, it would allow for the seizure of vehicles and property used to transport or harbor illegal immigrants.

In Georgia, an all-Republican commission of legislators plans to propose measures to enhance enforcement of tough laws already on the books. Georgia will also consider a bill to bar illegal immigrant students from all public universities.

The newly elected governor, Nathan Deal, a Republican, is expected to sign those bills. But the Georgia Farm Bureau, which represents the state’s powerful growers, voted to oppose any measures that would affect immigrant farm workers, most of whom do not have legal status.

In Kansas, Republicans won big majorities in both legislative houses and Sam Brownback, who just retired as a United States senator, was elected governor. Mr. Kobach, the law professor, was elected secretary of state after a campaign in which he vowed to pass a law requiring proof of citizenship for voters.

The newest initiative is a joint effort among lawmakers from states including Arizona, Oklahoma, Missouri and Pennsylvania to pass laws based on a single model that would deny American citizenship to children born in those states to illegal immigrants. The legislators were to announce the campaign in Washington on Wednesday.

A leader of that effort is Daryl Metcalfe, a Republican state representative from Pennsylvania. At a recent news conference, Mr. Metcalfe said his goal was to eliminate “an anchor baby status, in which an illegal alien invader comes into our country and has a child on our soil that is granted citizenship automatically.”

There is no question that something needs to be done in regards to the issue of what to do with the approximately 12 million illegal aliens already inside our borders. But first we must stop the illegal flow across our borders and then turn to how we should handle the illegals already here.

On cue, our Federal lawmakers {politicians} are deeply focused on the "political" ramifications of their decisions as they position themselves to get the minority vote. But an illegal is an illegal, regardless of the softer terminology the liberals and the Obama administration like to use. An "undocumented immigrant" is still an illegal alien. And it is time to stop the steam of illegals coming into our into our country daily.

Moving to, or being, conservative/libertarian will not solve California's problems which derive from uneven but transcyclic global economic crisis that began between 1967 and 1970.

Y'all want recovery, it depends on becoming Left - not liberal - left coast rebels. Look into some of that which was done during the 1999-2002 crisis in Argentina [workers taking over places of employment for example; same in various other South American nations, and forget the crippling debt payments].

"When compiling sharp conservative thoughts and takes for my Morning Jolt newsletter late at night and early in the morning, I find myself coming back to Left Coast Rebel again and again." -Jim Geraghty, National Review"Hey Tim, I appreciate the kind email and the plug on your site. It’s rare that my first feedback isn’t hate mail from a disgruntled statist! You carry on too – we’ve got our work cut out for us." -Tad DeHaven, Cato Institute"Thanks so much for all YOU do for liberty and individual rights. I appreciate your strong voice for capitalism. We're changing the culture -- keep it up!" -Jonathan Hoenig, Fox News"Congrats Tim. You have arrived." -GatewayPundit"Before we sell California to China or go Lex Luther on the San Andreas Fault, let's be sure to save the Left Coast Rebel." -Barack Obama's Cousin, Milton R. Wolf, M.D.

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